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01 May 2013

Meryl Streep at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2011.

Photo by John Paul Filo/CBS

Walt Disney Pictures' film adaptation of Into the Woods, the dark, Tony Award-winning fairytale musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, will begin filming in London this fall, according to an Equity casting notice.

Marc Platt, Rob Marshall, John DeLuca and Disney produce the film adaptation that will be directed by Academy Award-winning "Chicago" director Rob Marshall. "Into the Woods" is expected to begin filming in London this September.

It has also been reported that "Sweeney Todd" star Johnny Depp is in talks to appear in the film as well. Variety reports that Depp will portray the Baker, while the Hollywood Reporter states that he is in talks to portray the Wolf.

The creative team is currently seeking actors for the roles of Jack and Little Red.

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Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Into the Woods book writer Lapine authored the screenplay based on his own book for the 1988 musical. During an October reading of the screenplay, Lapine had streamlined the musical into a two-hour treatment for the screen.

Composer-arranger David Krane (Road to Qatar), who penned the arrangements for Marshall's film adaptations of Chicago and Nine, is working on arrangements for the Into the Woods film adaptation. DeLuca also produced Marshall's screen adaptations of "Nine" and "Chicago."

Into the Woods features a Tony-winning score by Sondheim and Tony-winning book by Lapine, who also staged both Broadway productions of the musical. Into the Woods premiered on Broadway in 1987 at the Martin Beck Theatre starring Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, Kim Crosby and Robert Westenberg. The original cast performance was preserved by PBS' American Playhouse in 1991. A 2002 Broadway revival played the Broadhurst Theatre.